Category Archives: Eating out

The Drapers Arms

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Brawn

Gastro pub. What a stuck in-the-middle, fence sitter of a label. Trite terminology aside, my only real issue with it is that it’s become a cypher for stripped floorboards and style-over-substance, over-priced, bland, rubbish food. And so it ends up hiding a number of very good pubs that serve very good food. But what other term is there to use?

Simple food, executed with the highest ability. This is the mark of a true gastro pub. Places like the Anchor & Hope, The Gunmakers, The Fox & Anchor. And The Drapers Arms. It’s not about the presentation or the decor, it’s about the ethos of the food. A mongrel mix of unpretentious English-with-influences grub. Not too messed around with and of the highest provenance. Continue reading →

Delhi Grill

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Paneer

Walking into Delhi Grill I felt something of the real Delhi, in all it’s chaotic glory, about it. So the meal wasn’t eaten to a background of baring horns, shouted conversation and sacred cows. But there was still something undeniably sub continental about both place and taste.

There has been a lot of buzz about Delhi Grill, more than you would usually get for a new Indian restaurant. A lot has been said about the fresh flavours and home made rotis. If there’s one thing a lot of sub-continental restaurants fall down on, it’s rotis and chapatis – so often bland and greasy. But when you walk in to see a young man spinning and rolling fresh dough, you know you’re know they should be good. Continue reading →

Counter Cafe, Hackney Wick

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Scrambled eggs with chorizo

The Wick. The next place to be and to be seen. Or so Timeout and a thousand Shoreditch hipsters would have you think. Full of warehouse studios and penniless artists taking advantage of all that space that no-one else wants (yet), it’s definitely interesting. And so peaceful on a Sunday.

Someone’s got to feed all these creative appetites, which is where the Counter Cafe comes in. Free of all the trendy bells and ribbons, this is a pared back, defiantly antipodean place. And thank god for that, because if there’s something the Aussies do well, it’s coffee and brunch. Continue reading →

Fernandez & Leluu: Unearthed and Action Against Hunger

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Flamenquines

Eating to help people starving around the world may seem like a bit of an odd thing to do. But there’s nothing that concentrates your mind on what people don’t have, than a well said word or two in your ear about hunger while you’re salivating over a plate of fabulous food.

And it’s not often you can eat for a good cause. So when the chance came to join a dinner at Fernandez & Leluu’s supper club in aid of Action Against Hunger, I grabbed it. Throw in produce sourced from around Europe by Unearthed, and you’ve got the recipe for a fine evening indeed.  Continue reading →

Caravan on Exmouth Market

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Triumphant cornbread at Caravan

For centuries great caravans crossed the shimmering sands of the Sahara, laden wonders bound for the great trading cities of the Mediterranean: Istanbul, Tripoli, Venice and Cairo. It was a hazardous and hot route and inevitably some of the goods didn’t quite make it.

And that was what happened when we ate at Caravan, a bar-restaurant kind of place the in foodie oasis of Exmouth market. There were some winners and some duds. Some humble dishes that revealed wonders, and some exotic sounding creations that were a let down. Continue reading →

Fernandez and Leluu: a supper club supreme

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Mix and match at Fernandez and Leluu

The whole table erupted with laughter and I, a little tipsily, reached for the bottle of wine and found, to no-one’s surprise, that it was empty. I was still reeling a little from the concentrated aromatic hit of Pho (who knew that broth could be that good).

As I leaned back in my chair, my eyes blearily roaming the table for another bottle, more food was brought out – great plates of shiny sleek fresh tuna and bowls that, by their salty fried aroma were full of chips. Greedy Diva, Slow Food Kitchen, Vintage Macaroon and I all looked at one another sharing a moment of foodie appreciation before someone said something and we all burst out laughing again. Continue reading →

BobBobRicard

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Quail eggs with truffles

Imagine, if you will, walking into an end-of-the-world Wiemar cabaret, a bright salon on the eve of a revolution. The air rich with decadence and possibility, and the clear whiff of luxury.

That’s how it felt, dining in the idiosyncratic, somewhat timeless BobBobRicard. The Wonkerish “press for champagne” button, the Pullman booths, the truffle, champagne and caviar laden menu. And of course there’s Leonid (aka Bob) leaning rakishly against our green leather booth. “Champagne?” he said, “after all, it is Wednesday.” Continue reading →

Hix Soho … or was it?

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Rack of hogget at Hix Soho

Stuffed sea gulls hanging from the roof, a blood pudding and potato dish called “heaven and earth”, “professional mentalist” Derren Brown in the basement. Surely this was a weird dream brought about by tiredness or a red meat deficit?

But what if it wasn’t, what if I only thought I was eating out with ol’ Derren in the basement, what if I were really on stage in the Albert Hall, hypnotised by the illusionist into thinking I was eating in Soho? And my thoughts just kept on coming back to that stuffed seagull, and the upside down cake-mobile describing slow circles over my head. Continue reading →

Goodbye Eastside Inn

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Veal chop at The Eastside Inn

It’s always sad when a much loved place closes its doors. Doubly so when it’s unexpected. So it was with some sadness, and not a little shock, that I found out on Twitter last week that Eastside Inn has closed its doors for good.

The surprising bit is that it was a great place. The food was excellent and the service spot on. But then, maybe that’s why. Overheads in central London must be prohibitively expensive and ESI was a big space. Continue reading →